1. Filed of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for collecting grass clippings by a lawn mower without scattering the grass clippings.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Lawn mowers are known in the prior art which are provided with a receiving box or bag into which the lawn clippings are blown and collected with the help of a high speed air flow produced by the rotational movement of the cutting blade of the lawn mower. These prior art lawn mowers experience difficulty in depositing the grass clippings into the receiving box or bag.
To overcome the difficulty in depositing the grass clippings in the receiving box or bag it has been proposed in the prior art to rotate the cutting blade at a higher speed than that necessary for mowing the lawn. Further, it has been proposed to partially bend the cutting blade or to provide a special fan plate to increase the production of high speed air flow. In addition, it has been proposed to provide the lawn mower on its inner periphery with a special wind tunnel to produce a high speed air flow. However, even if discharging the grass clippings under the influence of a high speed air flow there is a tendency for the grass clippings to stick to an outlet of the lawn mower or to an inlet of the receiving box or bag. The adhering of the grass clippings to various elements of the lawn mower is increased when the grass clippings are wet with rain or dew. Further, the adhering of the grass clippings results in a clogging of the outlet of the lawn mower or the inlet of the receiving box or bag soon after the start of the mowing operation.
Operating a lawn mower at a high speed to produce a high speed air flow considerably decreases the life expectancy of the lawn mower. Further, this high operational speed often results in damage to the lawn mower. In addition, the energy consumption, namely, electrical power consumption or gasoline consumption, is increased by operating the lawn mower at a high speed. Still further, this high operational speed is dangerous and results in an increase in noise.
Another disadvantage of the prior art lawn mowers is that the high speed air flow throws pebbles and other debris together with the grass clippings outwardly from beneath the lawn mower. Therefore, to decrease the danger of the debris from striking an operator the receiving box or bag is usually positioned to one side of the lawn mower. However, this arrangement remarkably decreases the mobility and the working performance of the lawn mower.